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Rating: C+
From I am not going to lie that I went into this movie not knowing much about it, but just assuming from the posters I was going to see a possible Bob Ross biopic starring Owen Wilson, but that was definitely not on the menu with Paint. The film stars Owen Wilson as Carl Nargle, a painter with the number one show on Vermont's public access channel. Carl seems to be at the top of the world, getting to do what he loves and enjoying being a big fish in a small pond. He has loads of dedicated followers and has women throwing themselves at him with the hopes they will be his next muse. Life is pretty sweet until one day the struggling TV station is forced to bring in some fresh talent to boost the stations struggling ratings and Carl must come to terms with the fact that his happy little life is about to be turned upside down.
When started the movie it took me a few minutes to realize that this movie is meant to be shot in modern times, but the film makes when the extra mile to make everything feel very much like we are stuck in the 80's. From the computers on the TV station's desk still rocking floppy disc drives to Carl's whole look-and-decked-out van that he sleeps in, it is easy to forget that this movie is supposed to be made in the current day. Carl's main love interest, Katherine (played by Michaela Watkins) is the assistant GM of the station and is actually the main force that is keeping the struggling station afloat. She and Carl used to be an item when he began his career but they had a falling out and now she just watches him from the sidelines move from woman to woman on their staff. When the new painter arrives, Ambrosia, played by Ciara Renee, her attention is drawn to the new painter along with everyone else in town. Carl struggles with having to find a place for himself in a world that has moved on from his talents to newer things.
The movie lays on satire and dry humor pretty thick. It definitely has its laugh-out-loud moments, but there were several times that I couldn't prevent the eye-rolling. I honestly feel like the real stars of this film were the supporting cast. From Reno 911's Wendi McLendon-Covey who plays Wendy to Lusia Strus who plays Beverly, these ladies really steal the screen when they are on it and bring out some truly funny moments and one-liners in the show.
Overall, Paint was just an okay flick for me. It had some funny moments, and I would probably have had a better time watching this with a group of friends on my couch so we can talk and joke along with the movie. This will definitely be a fun one to show to people who are fans of Bob Ross because its comedy is definitely poking some fun at his overall vibe, show, and followers. I do like it when films don't take themselves too seriously and Paint definitely follows that to the letter. We scored this one with a C+ rating. It's light-hearted fun and is definitely something different that the big blockbusters that we are typically inundated with at the box office.
Paint hits theaters April 7th.